Wednesday, July 15, 2009

My Experience: The Truth About Marble

I love love love the look of marble - some better than others. My favorite is Calcutta but Statuary is nice too. Carrera is less expensive but to me the veining is not quite as pretty. That said, natural stone is highly variable from lot to lot, so the key is to find the right lot or slab. I never buy sight unseen, as I want to make sure what I buy has the look I want. This takes time and patience and a lot of shopping.

Everyone says don’t do marble in a kitchen because it stains. I have had marble counters for 8 years and will have them forever – NOTHING else compares. Yes you have to have it sealed, not just once, but probably every 8 months to a year. This is not a big deal and not expensive. I have marble in my bathroom, on my kitchen counters and backsplash – even on my window sills. BTW marble sills are great for keeping up with NYC dust and soot.

If you make a mess and wipe it up, you will be fine, as stains do not appear on contact. Stains can also be removed and buffed out. Once some beet juice stayed on it overnight by mistake and it left a pink spot. In a DIY panic moment I created a paste with Oxy-Clean and water left it to sit. I repeated this several times and the stain eventually went away. If you love marble and are willing to take care of it, you will be fine. I am about to do my third kitchen in white marble without considering anything else.

Soooo don’t listen to what they say... If you love the look, get what you want.

I really hope my next kitchen is as pretty as this one - I really loved it. The kitchen space in the new apartment is more difficult as there are 2 doorways which impact the overall layout - the front door and the hall to the bathroom. Not ideal, but I will come up with a work-around to "pretty it up". The plan is to move out next week and rent a studio downstairs for 2-3 months during the really messy part of the renovation. Soooo I will not be in there for a little while - but until then I will be visting a lot!

Kelly, Thank you for this information. I love the look of marble and have been told over and over again, not to use it. I used a marble look-a-like quartz in my kitchen, which look great, but it's still not marble. You have given me the confidence to use marble in my bathroom update. I absolutely love your style. It is such an inspiration!